Large, centralized utility companies continue to dominate the U.S. market, but they are no longer the sole players in the business. The market is gradually shifting towards a more decentralized infrastructure. Over 500,000 American homes have gone solar, and the movement is not restricted to energy alone. Many American households are buying food produced by local, sustainable farms rather than large agribusinesses. Some businesses are beginning to generate their own clean water.

However, the challenge is to find capital investment for hundreds and thousands of small sustainability projects. Large banks and financial institutions are not ready to back small projects, or they simply do not understand this new emerging market. This is where an innovative financing company such as Generate Capital comes in. This San Francisco start-up is co-founded by Scott Jacobs, who earlier helped found McKinsey’s clean tech practice and EFW, a resource-focused investment firm.

Vikas is a staff writer for the Sustainable Development news and editorial section on Justmeans. He is an MBA with 20 years of managerial and entrepreneurial experience and global travel. He is the author of "The Power of Money" (Scholars, 2003), a book that presents a revolutionary monetary economic theory on poverty alleviation in the developing world. Vikas is also the official writer for an international social project for developing nations "Decisions for Life" run in collaboration between the ILO, the University of Amsterdam and the Indian Institute of Management.